


across the river (there's no time to rest)

by fallenangels22



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Bisexuality, Implied/Referenced Biphobia, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Minor Allura/Lance (Voltron), Minor Allura/Romelle (Voltron), Multi, Psychological Drama, Remembros AU, Swearing, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28718670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallenangels22/pseuds/fallenangels22
Summary: “Lance, you need to stop. You’re barely focusing in your classes. You’re going to fail the upcoming assessment.”“That doesn’t matter,” Lance answered. “Not anymore. This is a conspiracy, Allura. It goes beyond you, or me.”“Does it go beyond us?” She asked, voice barely above a whisper. “Does Keith Kogane matter to you more than I do?”“I need to find him, Allura. I need to.”"No," her voice cracked. "You want to."(Or, the one where there are spells to remind you of things you've forgotten, and Lance wakes up one day to find he's forgotten an entire person. Keith Kogane's name burns on his wrist, and he will find him. Even if it kills him.)
Relationships: Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Lance & Lance's Family (Voltron), Lance & Voltron Paladins
Comments: 10
Kudos: 80





	across the river (there's no time to rest)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, in this AU magic is pretty commonplace, but it's rather tame. People use it for remembering things, (like Lance) or for other trivial things.

Quickly, without much thought, Lance threw on the closest pair of pants, and stuffed a piece of semi-burnt toast into his mouth. If he couldn’t get down to school on time, Allura would kill him. He promised to drive her today, as she always wanted to be brought to school by her boyfriend. He loved his girlfriend, he really did—but sometimes she could be demanding. He knew she wanted to meet up at 8:10, and he was too scared to check the current time. 

Physically, and mentally exhausted, Lance did a double check of his bag. He had his calculator, his phone, his notes. Check, he was good. 

He was determined not to forget anything today, and forgo the use of the Remembros charm completely. 

Ever since he was young, he needed to use the charm just to make sure he didn’t forget the house key, or his mom’s phone number. As he became older, it became increasingly obvious how little the Remembros charm was used by his classmates. On days where there was a quiz, or an assessment, Lance didn’t bother using the charm as all magic was strictly prohibited. They literally washed it right off of you, right at the doors. 

It messed up his schedule quite a bit when he went without his daily charms. Due to the incident which followed his first test, he’s made it his mission to stop using all and any charms or magic whenever possible. 

That meant no Remembros, and no Calcoris. Pidge laughed when he told his friend group, and insisted he wouldn’t even last a week. No matter how much he wanted her to be wrong, naturally, she was right. He didn’t even last a day without forgetting his house key, which ended up with him standing in the rain, completely soaked. Not even his socks had been spared. 

So, here he was, rushing out the door, running to his dad’s car, trying to make it in time to pick up his girlfriend. In the time they had been dating, Allura never ridiculed him for his excessive use of basic charms, although he could tell sometimes, when he was casting spells like Mirris, or Pyros, she got annoyed. To be fair to her, the last time he cast the Pyros spell, he set her hair on fire. In turn, she grabbed the nearest pair of scissors. His mom didn't even question his sudden need to go to the barber. 

He was lucky she hadn’t broken up with him then. Their relationship was kind of exactly the same as their friendship had been, really. They hung out, played games, went to movies, etc.. The only difference was the public displays of affection, and even then, Lance hugged Hunk and Pidge a lot too. 

Sometimes, he felt like a failure of a boyfriend, for not trying harder. For not being worthy of Allura, who was even more beautiful than a Princess. 

He couldn’t remember when exactly Allura and him became a thing. It had started after a school day, that was for sure. They had always hung out after school, usually with either Hunk or Pidge, so when Allura asked him to meet up, he didn’t think much of it. The exact details were hazy, so he couldn’t say what happened, word for word. He only remembered the emotions, the feelings of relief, and love? At least, that’s what he assumed he felt. He wouldn’t be dating her if he wasn’t in love with her. His mother raised him better than that. 

Out the door he was, after saying a quick goodbye to his mother. He took his phone out momentarily, after he heard a soft ping. The time was way later than he wanted, and hoped for. He checked the notifications. 

_From Princess <3, 8:10 _

**_Hey, where are u?_ **

Not missing a beat, he replied. 

_To Princess <3, 8:17 _

**_I’ll be there soon_ **

_From Princess <3, 8:18 _

**_It’s ok, got a ride from Romi_ **

Romelle, or Romi, as Allura called her, was Allura’s best friend, and a frenemy of Lance’s. Romelle was extremely close to Allura, that before they were dating, he assumed she was Allura’s girlfriend. He sighed as he looked for Pidge’s contact. He should see if Pidge and Hunk would be open to walking with him. 

_To Demonic Pidgeon >:) 8:19 _

**_Can I meet up with u and Hunk?_ **

_From Demonic Pidgeon >:) 8:20 _

**_Yeah were by Shay’s you better hurry tho_ **

_To Demonic Pidgeon >:) 8:20 _

**_*We’re_ **

_From Demonic Pidgeon >:) 8:21 _

**_Your on thin ice_ **

_To Demonic Pidgeon >:) 8:21 _

**_*You’re_ **

_From Demonic Pidgeon >:) 8:21 _

**_Thin ice. Now hurry before I change my mind, you ungrateful brat._ **

It wasn’t everyday that his youngest friend used proper punctuation. With a small smile, Lance ran down his street, passing by many people, most of which gave him weird looks. 

Nearly out of breath, Lance rounded the corner of Balmera Avenue. He could see Pidge, Hunk and Hunk’s girlfriend, Shay, waiting for him. He sent thanks to whichever benevolent deity was watching over him. 

"Lance," Pidge called out, as she pushed her glasses back onto her face. "I didn’t know you were a die hard fanboy." 

"I’m...what?" Lance yelled back as he got closer. Shay and Hunk were quietly laughing, while Pidge was full on hooting with laughter. 

"Your shirt…" Hunk motioned to Lance’s chest. Lance looked down, and his eyes nearly fell out when he saw which shirt he had chosen this morning. 

He was wearing his sister’s favourite shirt, with her favourite boyband perfect little faces printed onto it. He must’ve grabbed it on the way out, mistaking it for his clothes. He was going to kill Veronica when he saw her next, he knew she did this on purpose. Why else would her clothes be in his room? 

"Ugh." Lance grabbed a fistful of the red shirt in disgust. It wasn’t even his colour. "Remind me to look more closely at my clothes next time." 

"Oh, Lance?" Pidge asked, poking his arm multiple times. "You should cast your Remembros, before you forget." 

"I can’t," Lance stated proudly, puffing out his chest. "I'm not-"

"I know, I know. You’re on a magic cleanse, but trust me, today is not the day to take that chance. What if you forgot your own name?" 

Lance stopped walking, and turned to face Pidge. He gave her his most unimpressed look. "You actually think I’d forget my own name?"

"Once, you did, after soccer practice." Hunk called out, from where he and Shay were walking, only a little ahead of him and Pidge. "It was really funny...I mean bad." 

“And I thought we were friends," Lance tsked, shaking his head at Hunk. “I’ve never been so betrayed.”

“Oh shush, you big drama queen.” Pidge interrupted, putting her finger to his lips. Lance fought the urge to bite her. “I don’t know how Allura puts up with you. Just cast the stupid spell.” 

Huh, another thing Lance noticed often, is when people spoke of him and Allura’s relationship, they always mentioned how much Allura must have to put up with. Normally, like now, it didn’t bother Lance, but people _always said it._ Why didn’t they assume Allura was the needy one? Why was it always Lance, who always put Allura first, above himself? He didn’t understand. He asked Allura about it, once. She told him not to worry about it. He tried not to. 

"Fine," Lance stuck his tongue out. He widened his position, and moved his hands in the familiar motions. Like water falling down a cliff, then opening a book. He remembered the silly lessons on spells from kindergarten, when most people didn’t. Probably because he still used basic spells everyday. " _Remembros."_

Lance waited for the flashing blue lights to falter, before he checked his wrists. So far, no handwriting. It looked like he was fi-

"OW!" He cried. The other three stopped talking and glanced up at him with worried expressions. "I mean, it’s oka-ow what, was that?" 

His right wrist flared with pain, specifically right under his thumb. He watched, dazed, as black letters appeared under his fingers, arranging themselves in a specific form. Remembros wasn’t a pain inducing charm, so he shouldn’t feel as if he was on fire. He shouldn’t feel anything, yet he squealed like a baby. 

"Are you okay?" Shay, the sweetheart she was, asked right away. "Let me see." 

Lance nodded, even as the tear stung his eyes. He clutched his right wrist to his chest, as if to shield it from the world. "Ye-yes, I'm fine." 

"That-that’s never happened before." Pidge’s eyes were wide, with horror or delight, Lance could never be sure. He needed new friends. "It’s never hurt you before." 

"I know!" Lance barked back, his whimpers barely held in. Without any warning, Pidge grabbed his wrist, and exposed it to the four of them. 

"What could you forget that was so important?" Pidge asked, as she watched the letters arrange themselves. 

"I don’t know! If it was important I wouldn’t have forgotten it." 

"Obviously you did," Pidge argued. "The letters shouldn’t even be moving this much. Not unless you were forgetting something big." 

The four of them watched in muted awe as the letters froze, settling into their final position. 

Two words were formed, both in bold, black letters. Except, it wasn’t a word, it was a name. 

**_Keith Kogane._ **

"Who the fuck is Keith Kogane?" Lance didn’t recognize the name, at all. "And why is his name on my wrist?" 

"Aren’t you supposed to know, as it’s your Remembros?" Hunk chimed in, trying to be helpful, and receiving Lance’s glare in return. "Like, maybe you forgot his name? Entire existence?" 

"Okay," Lance agreed, "But I don’t know a Keith Kogane, and have never, ever met one in my entire lifetime. At all." 

"That’s obviously not true," Shay said, with a small quirk of her lips. "The Remembros never lies." 

"Ugh," Lance complained, the phantom pain of the butchered spell still affecting his hand. "I wish I hadn’t gone with your advice, Pidge." 

"Hey!" Pidge protested. "How was I supposed to know you forgot an entire person? You didn't even know, and you're the one with the magic addiction." 

"It doesn’t matter," Lance declared. "I still blame you. You, Pidge, Katie Holt, are to blame for my injured wrist." 

"Whatever," Pidge rolled her eyes. "So..should we still go to school?" 

"I mean," Lance paused. "Yes. Ms. Honerva will kill me if I miss another advanced charms lesson. I’ve already missed six in the past month. You guys should go anyway." 

"Why so many?" Hunk asked. "Days missed, I mean." 

"Um…" Lance genuinely couldn’t remember. He looked down at his wrist, to see if it said anything useful. Spoiler: it didn’t. "I don’t know?"

"Was that a question?" Shay asked. 

"Yes? No?" 

"Stop being contradicting, Lance. Thanks to you we’re going to be late." Pidge complained, jutting out her lower lip for full effect. It was moments like these that didn’t allow Lance to forget she was younger than them. 

"Not my fault." Lance mumbled, rather bitterly. It’s true, it wasn’t his fault, not really. For that matter, it wasn’t even Pidge’s. Magic wasn’t an exact science, no matter how much society in general wished it was. Every person had different levels of Quintessence, everyone had different capabilities. For example, Lance was absolute trash at the Pyros spell, but did quite well with basic charms, and his favourite elemental spell, Glaci. 

"Maybe we should get Ms. Honerva to check it out once we get to school," Hunk suggested, as he slung an arm around Shay’s shoulders. "She loves this kind of stuff. She may even forget that you were late." 

"Not a bad idea," Lance said, as he stared at the sidewalk in front of him. "Not a bad idea." 

It’s true, it wasn’t a bad idea, but some part of Lance, some tiny, tiny part protested it with all its strength. 

* * *

"Ah, ah, ah," Ms. Honerva caught Lance trying to sneak into her classroom while she wasn’t looking. He silently sent a curse at Pidge. 

When Hunk, Pidge, Shay and Lance reached the school, the doors were locked, so they traveled to the main office, and got late slips. Lance noticed the student helper’s wince when he mentioned Ms. Honerva. Everyone knew about her brutal policies on tardiness. Even if she was Lance’s second favourite teacher—just behind Mr. Kolivan, he had to acknowledge the truth behind those rumours. She was ruthless, cutting into each and every student like a predator getting ready to eat. Honestly, she was terrifying. In a good way, of course. 

"I was beginning to think you were going to miss yet another class, Mr. McClain. Honestly, I’m surprised you even made it to this one, no matter how late you are. Come on, sit down." 

At that, the entire class let out a laugh, but one boy in particular could be heard louder than the others. James Griffin, Lance’s longtime rival. Lance didn’t know when exactly he started hating James, but something about that boy bothered him. He just couldn’t pinpoint what. Lance’s wrist burned yet again, and he stared at the letters long and hard. **Keith Kogane.** Lance didn’t know how this Keith person was even remotely related at all to James Griffin of all people, and really, he couldn’t care less. Lance was sick and tired of his magic, and this whole situation with the Remembros was not helping. 

"Lance, I didn’t know you were such a big fan of Orion. My little sister is obsessed." James snicked. Lance's shirt pressed against his skin, heavily. "I don't see the appeal. But, maybe a fa-" 

"Mr. Griffin? Enough. If I wanted your opinion on Mr. McClain’s state of dress, I would have asked." That shut James and everyone else up. 

Lance hung his head as he sulked towards his seat near the middle of the class. 

"Teacher’s pet," someone whispered as he walked past.

Lance flushed as he sat down. Romelle sat right next to him, so he tried copying down some of her notes on the theory of scientific magic. Which, in his opinion, was utter bullshit, but he knew better than to say that in class. 

"Pst," Romelle jabbed her finger into his side. "How come you ditched Allura? Lance, you gotta treat her-" 

"I gotta treat her right, I know, I know. I've already gotten the talk from three people, today." Lance rolled his eyes. "I just couldn’t make it, okay?" 

"You really hurt her feelings, you know." Romelle glared into his soul. Her black eyeliner and dark makeup standing out against her skin, making her look older than she was. "She did her makeup and everything, and you ditch her, and, and you show up to school with a shirt that declares your undying love for Orion, a boy band. A fucking boy band, Lance." 

"One, language," Lance said. "Two, boy bands are hot and everyone knows this, so shut the fuck up-"

"Language~" Romelle singsonged to him, her voice lilting at the end. "It's very unbefitting of a lady."

"Fuck you," Lance whispered. "And three, I’m trying, okay? I know I’m not the world’s best boyfriend, but I’m trying."

"Do or do not, there is no try, douchebag." Romelle flicked a piece of lint off his shoulder. Lance could not believe she quoted Yoda at him. The nerve. "You don’t just-"

"Romelle?" Lance cut her off. "If you care so much, you date her. Obviously you’d be a much better partner than me, with your sun allergy and dark clothes. Would it kill you to wear something else for once? Probably." 

Romelle’s jaw dropped open. "Wow...rude. Secondly, again, fuck you Lance. Fuck you and your stupid gay boy bands.” 

"I’m in a committed relationship, Romi~" Lance downright snarled, nearly snapping his blue pencil in two from the sheer frustration alone. "And contrary to popular opinion, I love my girlfriend, and would never, ever do anything to hurt her, no matter my sexuality, which some people can’t wrap their thick heads around. Also, don’t ever use gay as an insult." _It’s rich coming from you, Romi._

When Romelle decided to ignore him for the rest of the class, Lance didn’t stop her. Honestly, he felt horrible. He shouldn’t have said those things to her, as she was his friend too, not just Allura’s, but everyone seemed to be ganging up on him about Allura. He knew she was a Goddess amongst mortals, but everyone didn’t have to remind him every second of every day. 

"Ms. Sybas, and Mr. McClain, do I need to move you? Unless you’d say it to the whole class, keep it to yourself." 

"Aight," Romelle grumbled, reaching to hide her notes from Lance’s view. Whatever. Lance didn’t need her help anyway. Grumbling, he reached for a piece of paper from his bag, and began writing as best he could with his left hand. Future Lance might not be able to read it, but that was his problem. "Okay, Ms. Honerva."

"Mr. McClain?" Ms. Honerva snapped her fingers, attempting to get his attention. "You’ll need to see me after class." 

"What?" Lance answered, dumbly. "Why?"

"I said, you’ll need to see me after class. Do you need your hearing checked out, Mr. McClain?" 

"No." Lance answered, more sure this time. 

"Good to know. Since your hearing is fine, please recite the modern retelling of the Guardian spells after me. Glaci, Pyros, Helius, Umbryx, Fresia, and Hyeri." 

As Lance barely did any of the homework, he only knew two of those spells by heart. 

He could already hear James’ snickers. This, he decided, was going to be a long class. 

* * *

"Mr. McClain?" Ms. Honerva called Lance up to her desk. The rest of the students had long since filed out, leaving Lance alone in the classroom, with no company except for Ms. Honerva. "We need to talk about your tendency to skip my class." 

"I’m sorry, Ms. Honerva-"

"No. Let me talk, Lance. You’re a top student, you have the potential to be something great. Your Quintessence is strong, very powerful indeed. If only you stopped limiting yourself, you can be legendary. Please, do yourself a favour, don’t skip my class. I don’t care if you’ve been newly orphaned, or you witnessed a murder, laziness will never get you anywhere in life." 

"O-okay." Lance nodded his head, soaking in his teacher’s words. 

"Now, repeat after me. Glaci, Pyros, Helius, Umbryx, Fresia, and Hyeri."

Lance cleared his throat. "Glaci, Pyros, Helius, Umbryx, Fresia, and Hyeri." 

"Good," She smiled, a nice smile, if it wasn’t for her eyes. "Very good, Lance. Go bother your friends." 

Her eyes were dead. 

* * *

_From Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:06 _

**_Where r u?_ **

_To Demonic Pigeon >:) 12:07 _

**_I just got out of ms honervas class she can be scary sometime :(_ **

_From Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:07 _

**_Is the teacher's pet sad she tossed him aside? lol_ **

_To Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:09 _

**_Rude and she just wanted to talk about me skipping_ **

_From Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:10 _

**_Ur pretty flaky, ngl. Also, Alluras pissed, bro. P.i.s.s.e.d_ **

_To Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:10 _

**_woah, you can spell. yay_ **

_From Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:11 _

**_Did u ask abt the charm_ **

_To Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:11 _

**_yes.._ **

Lance didn’t know why he lied, as Pidge wouldn’t care either way. It came to him like second nature. He stared at the text, and felt nothing. No remorse, guilt or happiness. Just nothing. 

_To Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:11 _

**_She said I messed up my motions and that kindergarten motions weren’t a good idea_ **

_From Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:11 _

**_Dumbass_ **

_To Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:12 _

**_I’d be offended if u weren’t 2 ft tall_ **

_From Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:12 _

**_Frick u, also ‘romi’ seems upset, so beware,,, cause when ~romi~ is mad, ~lura~ is too_ **

_To Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:13 _

**_Ok..where r u guys_ **

_From Demonic Pidgeon >:) 12:15 _

**_Picnic tables..ur gf wanted to be *romantic* but u had to get detention,,, she deserves better bcs shes a fucking queen and I want her to step on me_ **

Lance put his phone face down, and pointedly ignored Pidge’s confession. 

* * *

Lance headed towards the nearest door, which happened to be Exit 3, the one furthest from the picnic tables. Honestly, Lance didn’t care though. He needed to exit the school, and fast. Something inside screamed for him to. 

On his way out, he passed the computer lab, dedicated to Sendak, one of the veterans who lived in the small area. During a war, (Lance didn’t know which one) he lost his arm, and now he mostly hung around the school, striking up conversations with random kids. Lance also thought it creepy, but literally no one else thought so. 

He creeped down the lively hallways, trying to squeeze in between all the other kids. He recognized some like Ryan Kinkade, some dude who liked to hang out with James for some reason. 

Lance saw the staircase, right at the end of the narrow hallway. So close, and just within reach. 

It was just his luck when the bell rang, releasing even more students into the halls. This is why Lance usually avoided Exit 3. 

The utter chaos that followed would have caused an earthquake. Kids were pushed and shoved, including Lance. To quote Heathers, this was no highschool, this was the Thunderdome. 

He barely had enough breathing room before being shoved into the nearest room, the library. Lance muttered under his breath. 

He wasn’t getting outside now. He knew better than anyone the difficulty of navigating high school hallways. 

Sighing, he wandered around the library, deciding to spend his free time touching random books. If people could do that in movies, he could do it in real life. He ran his fingers along the fattest spines he could find. 

Eventually, he reached the ancient magic section, one of his all time favourite books was there. ‘Charming, As Always’ by Takashi Shirogane. Takashi Shirogane was one of his favourite, if not favourite authors. 

He looked for the signature spot on the shelf, right where he knew it would be. Longingly, he stretched his hand out, and touched the book. 

"Ouch!" His right wrist flared up again. He glared down at the limb, the familiar words etched upon it. First James Griffin, now a book upon magical theory. What else did Keith Kogane have to do with? And why was it connected to him? 

And more importantly, how?

* * *

"Where the fuck were you?" Pidge never was one for formalities. Or simple hellos. 

"The library." Lance decided to go with the truth, because for what it was worth, he might as well. 

"Why were you in the library? It's not like you read." 

"Ouch, that hurt." Lance clutched his heart. "I'm injured." 

"Allura was devastated, dude. I get that you're going through something, but you can't just ditch your girlfriend." 

"I didn't ditch my girlfriend, Pidge I had detention." 

"Lance-" 

"Pidge, be honest with me," Lance said, looking his younger friend straight in the eyes. "Why does everyone seem to think I'm going to cheat on Allura?" 

Pidge didn't answer right away, instead opting to stare at the ground. 

“Is it because I can't remember simple tasks? Is it because I hate using magic? Or,” Lance's voice cracked painfully. “Is it because I'm bi? You know, the whole flirting thing is in the past.”

“No.” Pidge stated firmly, finally meeting Lance's eyes. “That's not it?”

"Then what is?" Lance implored, desperation soaking into his voice. "Why don't you guys have faith in me? Why does everyone seem to think I'm disloyal? Why, Pidge? Why?" 

"Because…" Pidge trailed off, an unsure, clouded look in her eyes. "Because…" 

"Because why?" Lance grabbed Pidge's shoulders, and gave her a little shake. 

Pidge paused, her mouth opening and closing. Her brows were drawn in concentration, a look of pure confusion on her face. Her glasses fogged up. “Pidge?” 

"Come on, let's go." Pidge answered, her voice unnaturally cheerful. "We can't leave our friends waiting." 

Pidge grabbed his left wrist, and led him away from the Exit, never answering his question. 

As he was dragged through the schoolyard, all Lance could think was: what the everloving fuck. 

* * *

“Lance?” Of course, Allura was here. With Romelle. He felt bad about what he did, he really did, but he didn’t want to talk to her. With Romelle, it always felt like there was a barrier keeping them from being close. It was always a competition, never a friendship. Romelle glared at him, planted firmly at his girlfriend’s side. There were tear streaks on her face, except her face wasn’t red. Lance sneered. He might not like magic, but he knew an Aquis spell when he saw one. “Where have you been?”

Allura was never overbearing or psychotic, like some girlfriends in movies. She was always laid back, and relaxed. Now, her eyes were blazing, as Romelle fake sniffled beside her. “Lance, how come you were mean to Romi? You know she only wants what’s best for you, and me.” 

Lance didn’t know that, actually. Romi, Romelle, Ellie, Elle. Whatever Allura called her, always caused drama, whether on purpose or not. Allura always tried inserting her into their dates, whenever they had them. Sometimes, it actually felt like he was the third-wheeler, not Romelle. 

“I’m sorry, Romelle…” He grumbled. He winced when Romelle smirked, but tried to hide it when Allura smiled. Her smile truly made her beautiful. 

“There we go. Now Lance, why’d you get detention? Pidge said you did, and so did Romelle. Do I need to beat someone up?”

“No.” Lance laughed, glad the atmosphere lightened a bit. Pidge stood still at his side, her gaze still unfocused, so he didn’t bother including her in the conversation. “It was a misunderstanding. I’d been missing too many of Ms. Honerva’s classes, she got worried.” 

“Huh,” Allura tilted her head. “You always walked with me on those days, and you entered her class. Every time. I even saw you sit down once.” 

Lance frowned. “But..”

“Lance,” Lance loved how she pronounced his name as Lonce instead of Lance. “What did you do while skipping class, supposedly? Drugs?” 

A long pause. “I...I don’t remember.” 

Another burst of pain through his wrist, the letters burning into his skin, branding him. Again, Keith Kogane, a man he’d never met before, was affecting his life. He needed to find this kid, and fast. He didn’t think there was a reverse for the Remembros, as the reverse was remembering what you forgot. Simple and easy, in fact, so easy kindergarteners learned it. 

"Weird." Allura shrugged. 

He couldn't recall a Keith Kogane, he didn't understand what the universe was trying to tell him. As he watched Allura and Romelle sit together on the bench, braiding each other's hair, and whispering softly into the other's ear, he felt like he was intruding on a private moment between two lovers, not two friends.

He didn't understand what was going on, and that was the worst part. 

* * *

A week went by, and nothing happened. His classes came and went. He made sure never to miss Ms. Honerva’s class, even if his mark burned every time he repeated the basic spells. It was just his luck Veronica was visiting home this weekend. 

He loved his sister, but she was notoriously nosy. She never minded her own business, always inserting herself into his life, whether he wanted her to or not. 

On Tuesday, when he had the chance, he went back to the library and took the book out. His mark hurt whenever he was around it, and that seemed as good a place as any to start his search. Flipping through the book, he sat on his bed, trying to analyze every word. 

_“The way magic works depends on the individual. If the wielder is weak minded, and easily persuaded, their magic will be weaker. The opposite is true as well. Magic doesn’t rely on a science, or a formula, but a mind. A will. A desire, buried deep within the subconscious, waiting to be reached, released.”_

He paused, and dog-eared the page. He hated doing that, but he didn’t have a bookmark. Something about Takashi’s work really spoke to him. This passage in particular sparked his interest. He’d be saving this for later. 

_“There have been many myths from the past that speak of the power of the mind, and of the soul. The legend of a mythical avatar created from the perfect harmony of five souls is widely accepted across many religions.”_

“Hey, bro.” Lance looked up, and Veronica smirked from the door. “How’re you doing?” 

“Veronica.” Lance whined. He didn’t hide in his room for nothing. “Go away.”

“Is that anyway to speak to your long lost sister? I’m wounded, bro. Wounded. Is this about the Orion shirt? I promise, I didn’t purposely hide it in your clean laundry.” 

“You know the way out. It’s the way you came.” Lance pointed into the hallway. Veronica merely laughed, pushing his finger away. 

"Et tu, Lance?" 

“I’m going back to reading. You can watch if you really need to.” Lance grumbled. He picked up the book, and founded his spot in the book. "just go back to being creepy." 

_“Known most commonly as Voltron-”_

He dropped the book faster than he could run. His wrist flared up, causing him to instinctively put his mark in front of his chest. He cradled his right wrist with his left hand. 

“What,” Veronica crossed the room, and clutched his wrist, the right one, and turned it over. She read over the letters and her eyes widened. “Is this? Lance, care to tell me why your boyfriend’s name is tattooed on your hand? You know you’re not supposed to get a tattoo until you're eighteen. Does mom know?” 

“Boyfriend?” Lance spluttered, as he tried to form coherent words. “What? I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“You don’t?” Veronica’s face mirrored his own. “No, you do. You said you did months ago before I left for college again. I even met the kid.” 

“I’m dating Allura.” Lance reaffirmed. “I have a girlfriend, Veronica.” 

“You broke up with Keith?” Veronica asked, a frown on her face. “Why? I thought you two were going so well. Everyone shipped Klance. It was my OTP, to be honest.”

“What the fuck is Klance? I have no idea about what you’re saying. Veronica, I’m dating Allura, and have been for a few months.” 

“Allura? What? I thought she was dating that chick, Raquel? Rachel? Romelle.” Veronica protested, holding her ground stubbornly. “I thought you two were gay as fuck. Are you using each other as beards? You know, mom accepts you. Same with dad.” 

“What? No!” Lance’s jaw dropped. “I’m not using Allura as a beard! She’s not even gay.” 

“But you are?” Veronica implored. "Right?" 

“I’m bi, Veronica.” Lance’s eyes twitched. He didn’t want to talk about this right now. "So, yes?" 

“I know.” Veronica stated, her brows furrowed. "You know, Lance, there's nothing wrong with being bi. I, myself, am a gay woman, and I first figured that out when-" 

"Stop." Lance ducked his head into a pillow. "I don't want to hear about your sex life." 

"Suit yourself." Veronica shrugged. "It's your loss." 

"It's really not." Lance shuddered. He didn't want to think about sex and his sister in the same sentence. He _really_ didn't. 

"Okay, say you didn't date Keith, which you totally did by the way, why is his name on your wrist? Bro, this isn't looking very convincing." 

"I cast a Remembros spell and messed it up, okay?" 

"Remembros...as in from grade one? Man, I thought you were past that. Last month you were casting advanced Glaci." 

"It's useful." Lance argued. If it wasn't broke, he wasn't going to bother fixing it. 

"So..you forgot your boyfriend? Really, Lance? Dumbest lie ever. I don't care about the tat, but be careful. Mom will freak." 

Lance stared at the page over and over again after Veronica left. He didn't have a boyfriend, he was in love with Allura. 

_(He wasn't.)_

* * *

Life went on, living him behind. His friends barely acknowledged his hand, and it barely hurt anymore. Him and Allura were going as strong as ever, even if he couldn't bring himself to kiss her anymore. 

( _"_ _You still don't know what it means?" Hunk asked. "Huh, weird."_

_"I don't know who Keith Kogane is." It wasn't a lie. Not exactly. If he didn’t mention what Veronica said, so what? It’s not like Keith matters. If he did, Lance wouldn’t have forgotten him.)_

They went to see a movie this week, a new rom-com that just hit theaters. Allura raved on about it for weeks in advance, gushing about the main characters. Personally, Lance didn’t understand the hype, as the ending most likely involved the main character falling into a slightly toxic relationship with the main lead. 

“Come on, Lance.” Allura tugged on his sleeve. “We won’t be able to get any popcorn if we wait too long.” 

“Yeah,” Lance agreed, not fully paying attention to Allura. 

He followed her into the theater, and waited in the concessions line. The people in front moved by quickly. He reached the counter, with Allura on his arm. 

“Can I…” The man behind the counter turned around to smile at him, and Lance couldn’t help but stare. His eyes were so dark, and he swore they looked purple. Lance’s hand twitched. 

“Can I help you?” He asked, voice rather monotone. Bored, maybe. 

“Um,” Lance choked on his own spit. He didn’t think he had ever seen such a beautiful person. “Yes?” 

“Is that a question?” 

“No?” 

“Lance,” Allura pinched his arm. “What’s wrong?” 

Lance turned back to his girlfriend. “What do you mean?” 

She frowned. “You spaced out while ordering the popcorn.” 

Lance spluttered, “No, I didn’t.” 

“Uh, yeah you did.” Lance whipped his attention back onto the counter, confusion taking over when he didn’t see the man from before. Instead, there was a middle aged woman, looking him over with her thick eyebrows raised. “Are you going to order something?” 

“Uh,” Lance’s eyes widened as he glanced around the space. Everything was the same, except the man wasn’t there. Did he imagine him? “Yeah, um, a large popcorn?” 

“Alright, buddy.” The employee eyed Lance weirdly, before handing him the popcorn. Lance made the hand motions for the Repai spell, and his twenty dollars from home appeared. He handed it over, and accepted the change. “Enjoy the movie.”

“Thanks.” Lance grabbed the stuff, and followed Allura’s lead, heading to Theater 7. This might be the longest two and a half hours of his life. 

When the opening credits started, he wanted to claw his eyes out. 

As he held his girlfriend’s hand, all he could think about was the name branded on his skin. 

_(He didn’t notice when Allura saw his wrist. He didn’t notice when she frowned.)_

* * *

Lance arrived at school an hour earlier than usual, foregoing his daily walk with Pidge and Hunk. His two weeks were up, and he needed to renew his book. 

“Hey, Lance.” The school’s new librarian, Acxa, (she insisted everyone call her by her first name) greeted him. She was only a few years older than Lance, probably around Veronica's age. “Here to return something?” 

Lance laughed. “Nah, I’m here to renew something.” 

“Put it into the bin over here.” She gestured to her side. “I’ll scan it now.” 

“Okay.” Lance handed over the book, and Acxa scanned it under his name. 

“You should be good for another two weeks. Hey,” Acxa looked closely at the cover of the book. “Is this by Takashi Shirogane? It is, right?” 

“Yeah, his name is on the cover.” Lance responded. 

“Oh, he’s doing a fan meeting for the newest addition of this series tomorrow, at the youth’s centre downtown. You should go.” 

Lance smiled as he took the book back. “Thanks.” 

“Anytime, kiddo.” 

* * *

Lance couldn’t contain his excitement as he waited outside the youth centre, with Hunk right beside him. He wanted to bring Allura, but she declined. Romelle wanted to do something with her today, and Allura had ‘already made plans,’ with her. It didn’t matter, anyway. Hunk was fun to hang with. 

“So,” Hunk asked. “This dude writes textbook? He wrote the one about magical theory, right?” 

“Yes,” Lance paused. “And no. He was originally a pilot, but something happened to his arm, so he took up writing.” 

“Oh,” Hunk said. “That’s cool.” 

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Lance shrugged. He bounced on the balls of his feet. The doors opened, and him and Hunk spilled in. 

Eagerly, Lance clutched his copy of one of Takashi’s earlier works. Not his favourite one, but it was up there. ‘A Theory Of Normalcy,’ was award-winning, so Lance figured Mr. Shirogane wouldn’t mind signing it. 

Lance got in line, and waited for his turn to meet the author. After around thirty minutes, he reached the front of the line. 

“Mr. Shirogane?” Lance asked, uncharacteristically timid in front of the other man. 

“Just call me Shiro. Mr. Shirogane makes me feel old, and I don’t think I’m much older than you.” The former pilot said, eyes crinkling. He reached for Lance’s copy of his book, and set it down in front of himself. 

“So, what’d you like about this one?” He asked, flipping through the worn-down pages. 

Lance blanked. “I liked...the words.” 

“The words, huh? I guess that was kinda my job.” Mr. Shirogane-Shiro joked. “What’s your go-to spell? Pyros? Itcra?” 

“Remembros.” Lance answered, still dazed. 

“Remembros?” Shiro repeated, trying it out on his tongue. “I haven’t used that one in a while. Do you use advanced or basic motions?” 

Lance gulped, slightly embarrassed. “Basic.” 

“Hmm,” Shiro said. “You should consider advanced. You’re in high school right? Your teacher should’ve covered that already.” 

Lance frowned. Ms. Honerva never talked to them about Remembros, if he remembered correctly. 

Shiro shook his head. “Who should I make this out to?” 

“Keith Kogane.” Lance blurted out, without much thought. Takashi’s eyes clouded over, just like Pidge’s had. 

“Keith Kogane.” Shiro repeated, as if in a trance. "K-e-i-t-h." 

“Is the name of my..lizard. That I gave a makeover because of your book, sir. My name is Lance McClain.” 

Shiro snapped out of whatever was happening to him, and smiled. He scribbled something down on Lance’s book, and handed it back. Lance thanked him before being forced out of the way by fellow fans. Hunk called him over to the door. 

“What’d he say?” 

“Nothing much, just spell tips and stuff.” Lance replied. Hunk hummed, content with the answer. Lance opened the book to read what he wrote. 

_‘I’m glad you_ red _my book, Lance. Remember, for spells like Yaetif, focus on the feeling, not the thought. Add an additional spell for more power.'_

Besides the glaringly obvious spelling error, Lance didn’t think there was anything special about it. It was weird, though, because Lance didn't even mention Yaetif. 

Strange. 

* * *

The pieces of the puzzle didn’t fit. The handsome man from the theater, the book, James, Veronica, his teacher, none of it made sense all together. Lance’s hair fell out from the stress. He couldn’t keep up with all the twists and turns. When he thought the answer was left, it was right. When he thought it was down, it was up. 

Soon enough, the annual assessments would come up, and the anti magic cleanse would happen. Lance dreaded that. 

Originally, he wanted Keith Kogane’s name off his hand, gone from his life, but now? Now he wanted to dive deeper into the mystery that was Keith. He only came out of his room for food, or school. He pinned up all his clues onto a board, and tried connecting them. He turned off his phone when the weekend started, and hadn’t turned it on since. 

“Lance?” His mother called out from outside his room. “Allura is here to see you.” 

“Tell her I’ll see her later, mama.” Lance replied, as he glued another picture to the board. 

“Lance?” Allura was already in the house. She walked down the hallway. “Lance I know you’re in there.” She was outside his door. He hadn’t showered in roughly three days, and it didn’t bother him—not very much, anyway, but Allura really cared about those things. “Lance, open the door.” 

“Lance isn’t in today, please leave a message.” Lance threw on the nearest clean shirt, which, he noticed, was his sister's shirt. He sighed as he threw it on. "He'll get back to you as soon as possible." 

He needed to do his own laundry. 

“Lance, seriously.” Allura sighed. Lance groaned, as he walked over to the door, and opened it. 

“Alright. Come on in, then.” 

Allura sniffed the room, and didn’t seem to like the smell. At all. “Lance—when was the last time you showered?”

“Three days ago.” No use in sugar-coating it. 

Allura balked at his answer. “Lance...”

“What?” Lance pulled his shirt down. It was a little tight on him. 

“Pidge, Hunk, Romelle-” 

“Romelle? Really?” 

“-and I are worried about you. I’m worried about you. You barely hang out with us, you don’t even talk to me anymore.” 

“It’s not a big deal, Allura. I promise-”

“Promise what, Lance? You haven’t been yourself lately. Is this..is this because of whoever Keith Kogane is?” 

Lance hissed. “How do you know about that? Did Pidge tell you? Or was it Hunk?” 

“Lance,” Allura’s eyes widened. “I saw your wrist. Why do you have someone’s name on your wrist, Lance?” 

“It’s none of your business,” He snapped. He regretted it instantly, especially when she growled in return. 

“If it affects me, it kind of is. Lance, I’m scared for you.” 

“Don’t be.” Lance cut her off, with a wave of his hand. “Don’t spend anytime worrying about me, Princess. Don’t bother. It’s not worth your troubles, or worry lines.” 

“Lance, why are you doing this? What’s going on? Just tell me.” Allura pleaded, reaching out to touch his arm. "We need to trust each other." 

“I need to know. It all connects, I know it. I just know.” Lance stuck another hand drawn rendition of the man onto the board. He connected it to Keith’s name, which was in the center of the board. 

“Lance, you need to stop. You’re barely focusing in your classes. You’re going to fail the upcoming assessment.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Lance answered. “Not anymore. This is a conspiracy, Allura. It goes beyond you, or me.”

“Does it go beyond us?” She asked, voice barely above a whisper. “Does Keith Kogane matter to you more than I do?”

“I need to find him, Allura. I need to.”

"No," her voice cracked. "You want to."

"Allura-"

“Lance, you need to stop. It’s either this...or us. This is affecting our relationship, negatively. We barely even text each other. I hang out more with Romi, than you.” Allura sighed, running her hands down her face. Of course, she brought up Romelle, who could do no wrong. Lance wouldn't be surprised if Romelle was the one to convince Allura to come over. she always stuck her nose where it didn't belong, like Lance's business. "Lance...it's Keith or us." 

Allura waited for an answer, one Lance didn’t give. Tears sprung to her eyes. Heartbreak was a familiar feeling to Lance, he could recognize it a mile away. “You can’t decide, can you? This means more to you than I do. I’m sorry Lance, but...we’re done.” 

Lance almost said something, almost begged her to give him another chance. He watched as she left, as she stormed out, pain written all over her face. He knew he should feel sad, but he didn’t. Not really. It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, allowing him to feel lighter than he had in months. 

Besides, there was more work to do. 

* * *

The month was nearing an end, and Lance was no closer to solving the mystery. He hadn’t been out in weeks, hadn’t seen anyone since Allura broke up with him. All his thoughts, his dreams, were filled with hazy memories. Memories he couldn’t recall every happening. Each memory, and dream, was filled with the same teen from before, with his dark hair and eyes. 

Each night, Lance tried to reach him, to touch him, see if he was real, and each night, he failed. 

_(“Why are you running from me?” Lance yelled to the boy, as he ran down a field of flowers. The clear cut path in the middle was lined with sharp lilies, that looked as if they could cut Lance. “Why won’t you stay still?”_

_“Does time stand still when you ask?” The teen called back, as he touched one of the flowers. A prickle of too bright blood slid down the boy’s right wrist. “Does God bow down if you demand them to?”_

_“No.” Lance answered, his vision blurring. "Why are you talking so weirdly?"_

_"It's your dream," the boy shrugged, his soft hair blowing in front of his face. "I don't understand any more than you do."_

_"If it's my dream, shouldn't you do what I say? Isn't that how it works?"_

_“Why should I heed your requests?" The boy challenged. "This might be your dream, but it's my reality. Go away, Lance.”_

_Lance didn’t want to leave, but the boy convinced him.)_

These dreams he had played on repeat in his head. He tried deciphering them, but he never could. The boy always spoke in riddles, and Lance never remembered every detail. 

Most days, he avoided walking with Pidge, or Hunk. Ever since the breakup, they treated him like glass, as if he were going to break with the smallest touch. Romelle wouldn’t even talk to him, instead opting to give him glares throughout their shared classes. 

Today, he didn’t even bother telling Pidge or Hunk he was skipping their walk. He went to school, only because his mother forced him to. Ever since they moved here from Cuba, she never let him skip assessment day. 

_Tests were important_ , she’d say. _Important to your future._

As he walked to school, alone, he tried piecing his thoughts together, tried organizing the contents of his brain.

Boyfriend, Keith. James-enemy, Keith. Takashi Shirogane, Keith. Pidge, Keith. Everything related to Keith. 

During assessment day, schools screened students for magic. If there were any traces of it, they’d hit you with a Gyru spell, to wash away all outside influences. The rule was regularly enforced, so there was no way around it. They’d find you. It wasn't too bad, not really. After the first time Lance experienced it, and the shock that came afterwards, he'd been able to mentally prepare himself each time. Magic was a constant in his life, in everyone's life. Contrary to popular, public opinion, magic wasn't something you could just go without at any point. That's why Lance had been trying so hard to depending on it. He didn't want to become one of the weirdoes on 'My Magic Addiction.' 

Lance glanced down at his wrist, and the words written on them. His Remembros might be erased, today. He didn’t think there was a way to get rid of Remembros, but he forgot about the paranoia of American schools. 

“Lance McClain?” A nasally voice called from up front. “Please enter the school, now. If you have any traces of magic, it’ll be washed off you.” 

Lance winced, and walked up towards the doors. He looked at his wrist one last time, before entering the school. 

Pain was a funny thing. Sometimes, it was all you felt. Others, you never even register the feeling until too late. It came and went in small intervals. Lance didn’t feel the blue fire spreading from the words onto the rest of his skin. The Remembros fought back against the Gyru spell. It burned itself into his skin to remain there, until he remembered what he was missing. Honestly, had he noticed earlier, he would’ve screamed. Maybe he did. 

Instead, he looked down, and let out a little noise of surprise. 

"Oh." 

Some other students screamed as well, and ran in the opposite direction. Lance stood still, and watched, numbly, as the fire licked away at his skin. _This_ , Lance thought, _this is why I hate Pyros._

His head...felt light. He heard a teacher scream his name, presumably Ms. Honerva, before he blacked out. 

* * *

“Lance?” Ms. Honerva was hovering inches from his face. “Are you alright?” 

“Ugh,” Lance’s hand was covered by a bundle of bandages. He was glad, he didn’t particularly want to know what it looked like underneath. 

“Lance.” Ms. Honerva snapped her fingers again. “Repeat after me: Glaci, Pyros, Helius, Umbryx, Fresia, and Hyeri.” 

“Glaci-wait, why?” Lance interrupted himself. “Why do I need to say basic spells right now?” 

“It’s for your arm,” The teacher reasoned, her voice soothing, and convincing. “Now. It's urgent you listen, Lance. Repeat after me: Glaci, Pyros, Helius, Umbryx, Fresia, and Hyeri.” 

“Glaci, Pyros, Helius, Umbryx, Fresia, and Hy-no. That doesn’t make any sense. How could elemental spells help?”

“It will all make sense soon, little Paladin.” His teacher responded. “Listen to me. Glaci, Pyros, Helius, Umbryx, Fresia, and Hyeri.” 

“No.” Lance pushed her away from him. Something wasn’t right. “What’s going on? Why won't you give me a straight answer?” 

“Lance, you’re injured. Do as I say, trust me.” 

“No….I’m not going to. My...mark hurts.” He said, which was true. His mark burned, setting off every instinct inside. 

_Run._

“I can make it feel better, Blue.”

“Blue?” Blue?

“You don’t need to remember Red, Blue. You were doing so well. You, Pink, Green, Yellow and Black. Red was the trouble maker, he had to go. Don’t fight it. I’ve done so much for you. You were in a relationship with Pink, even. She was perfect, no? Once I dealt with her girlfriend, that is.” 

Allura. She was talking about Allura. And Romelle. “Stay away from them.” 

“Oh, Blue.” She tsked. “There was no way to alter my spell, no loophole. How did you do it?” 

Lance cowered, and contemplated making a run for it. 

“How did you do it? You were the weakest, you are the weakest—why do you remember when Pink doesn’t? She was always the strongest. Answer me, child.” 

“I didn’t do anything.” Lance cried. Ms. Honerva grabbed his left wrist, digging her finger nails into his skin. “Ow, you’re hurting me.”

“Don’t lie to me, child. You’ll regret it. Tell me how you know his name. Now!” 

“I-” Tears sprang to Lance’s eyes. His teacher needed to get her nails cut. “I c-c-cast a Rem-remembros spell and his name showed up.” 

“Remembros? Please, Blue. I’m not idiotic, and I didn’t think you were. Answer my question, or I will harm Pink and her friend.” 

“I’m telling the truth!” He yelled. “Leave me alone! Leave Allura out of this!” _Even leave Romelle out of this._

“Now, that’s no way to talk to your senior, Blue.” She said, her tone cold, and emotionless. “You’re misbehaving. You have such promise, Blue. Can’t you see? You were meant to be great, not to be held down by Voltron and her Paladins.” 

_Voltron. Voltron. Voltron. What was Voltron?_

_(Five Paladins, five Lions, five people, five friends.)_

Lance watched in horror as she made the motions for Pyros, his least favourite elemental spell. She used the most advanced form there was, Hyru Pyros. If he could remember correctly, mostly used to burn people alive. Her face had delight written across it as she pressed her flaming hand on his skin. He screamed, and she laughed. 

She fucking laughed. She definitely didn’t even make his top ten teachers anymore, as she was fucking psychotic. 

He was stuck with a sadistic psychopath. Where were the other teachers? Students? Why didn’t anyone help him? 

“This is Hyru Pyros, except it’s my version of it. It doesn’t affect the body, only the mind. You won’t remember anything when it’s done. No baby spell will save you this time, Paladin.”

_(“Do you trust me?” The man-Keith, asked. Lance smiled as he wove flowers into a crown._

_“Of course.” Lance answered._

_“Good.” Keith said. “I trust you too, Lance.”_

_“I’d hope so,” Lance giggled as he placed the colourful crown on Keith’s dark head. “After all, we’ve been dating for quite some time. I’d like to think I know things no one else does about you.”_

_“You do.” Keith answered, changing the position of the headpiece. Lance hummed happily, as he stared off into the distance.)_

“Your Quintessence is so strong. I’ll be at my most powerful.” His teacher chuckled, as the fire spread across his body. "After the effects of my first spell wear off, the Hyru will change you, improve you. Really, you should be thanking me, little Paladin." 

_(“Okay Team,” Shiro, the author-pilot said. “We’re going to go over a few drills. Remember, the best offense is a good defense. Yaetif is the spell you should use. Up and around, down and under.”_

_“Do you think he knows how ridiculous he sounds?” Lance whispered to Keith, who sat directly beside him._

_“No,” Keith replied. “He really doesn’t.”_

_“He should write a book one day,” Lance said. “Then, people who like this stuff can suffer instead of us.”_

_“Maybe.” Keith smiled, and it was truly magical, more so than any charm or spell Lance knew.)_

"Where..." He coughed. "Is Keith?" 

She laughed, a grating, horrid sound. "You will never see Red again, Blue. He is gone, and you don't even remember him." 

"No.." Lance cried. It couldn't be true. She had to be lying. He wouldn't forget his boyfriend, he _wouldn't_.

Except he did, didn't he? He forgot about Keith's smile, his laugh, his everything. It was like Keith never existed in the first place, never became his friend, and never became something more. 

"That's not true."

"I assure you," She smiled, her teeth stained red. From lipstick or blood, Lance didn't care. "I'd never lie to you." 

Lance ran back the last conversation he remembered with Keith through his head.

_Yaetif, the spell of defense._

"Yaetif!" He cursed as loud as he could, thinking only of Keith, and of the feelings he thought were for Allura, but weren't.

 _For extra power, add an additional spell._ "Yaetif Pyros!" 

Up and around, down and under. Around the head, with a deep breath. 

A bright light, perhaps the brightest Lance had ever seen in his entire life, filled the room, momentarily blinding both occupants. 

When Honerva fell backwards, Lance ran out of the room.

_(He didn't bother looking back, but if he had, he would've seen the extensive burns across her face, scarring her.)_

He sprinted as fast as he could, for he didn’t have long before he was found again. Through the maze of a school, he reached Exit 3. Throwing the door open, wasting no time, he ran. 

He reached the bottom, and stepped outside, taking in the fresh air. The school parking lot was filled with children, teachers, parents, and even reporters. 

“Lance?” Allura was in the crowd. Everyone turned their attention to him. “Lance!” 

Lance gathered his bearings, and set off in another sprint, running down the school field. His gym teacher would be proud. 

Allura, Pidge, Hunk and Romelle all followed suit, chasing him. He had to pause to take a breath, allowing them to catch up. 

“Lance,” Hunk breathed heavily, bent over. “What’s going on? The paramedics were going to take you, but Ms. Honerva stopped them with some seriously advanced dark magic. Like, demonic-dark magic.” 

“She did? You know, nevermind, nothing surprises me about that woman anymore.” Lance stared down at his right arm, and took the chance. He ripped off the bandage, exposing the damaged flesh underneath. 

“Woah! That’s nasty, Lance.” Pidge made a face. 

“Look,” Lance said, amazed. "Right there." 

“No thanks. I ate recently.” Pidge replied. Allura and Romelle just stared at him, from little over two meters away. 

“It’s gone,” Lance shoved his wrist in Hunk’s face. “I remember now. I know who Keith is. He’s my boyfriend.” 

“Your boyfriend?” Romelle, Allura and Pidge asked at the same time. Hunk didn’t say anything. 

“You don’t have a boyfriend.” Pidge’s eyes widened comically. "Do you?" 

"I do." He barely remembered him, but what he did have, he cherished. 

"You cheated on Allura with some random dude?" Romelle seethed. "Lance, what the fuck?" 

"NO." Lance clarified. "I was never dating her. Not really." 

"Huh?" Hunk asked, completely befuddled. "Whaaaat?" 

"Excuse me?" Allura asked. "Lance...." 

“Yes,” Lance answered. “You need to cast a Remembros, all of you. Trust me.” 

“Lance,” Allura frowned. The feelings between them were still...rough, even if their relationship wasn't real in the first place. To Allura, and even Lance for a while, it had been real. “Lance. Please, you need to stop. This has gone too far.” 

“Allura,” Lance said. “I need you to trust me. I need all of you to trust me. Perform the most basic form of Remembros you can. Please, you have to trust me.” 

“Alright,” She conceded. “I’m going to trust you, Lance. Not because you deserve it, but because I feel like I have to.” 

"You trust him?" Romelle hissed, tugging on Allura's sleeve, scandalized. "Why?" 

A pause. "I don't know. A feeling." 

“I’ll take it.” He laughed. “Come on.” 

The five of them, (yes, he included Romelle) all moved in sync, doing the Remembros kindergarten motions. Like water falling from a cliff, and opening a book. Simple and easy. 

“ _Remembros.”_

Life was full of beautiful moments. Happy memories, and bitter truths. Nothing, Lance thought, nothing would ever top his friends’ (plus his ex, and Romelle’s) face of pure agony when the Remembros spell was cast. Pidge whacked her wrist at least three times, and Hunk bit his. _He actually bit it._

All four of their wrists blazed, and black letters rearranged on them. Keith’s name wasn’t there—that was only on Lance’s—but the word Voltron was clear as day. 

“Wha-what does that mean?” 

“It means,” Lance said, as he watched police officers drag Honerva out of the school, still raving about Quintessence, and Voltron. Her face would forever bear the markings of his attack. “That we’re family. And we need to stick together. Honerva—whoever that was, didn’t do it alone.” 

“What are you saying, Lance?” Romelle piped up. “Don't be vague.” 

“I’ve read about Voltron,” Lance said, something wistful in his eyes. “I can’t remember what it is, or why we’re related to it, but it’s out there. People like Honerva want to use it for something—something bad, and we can’t let that happen. We have to find it first." 

Lance paused. He looked off into the distance, where the packs and hounds of reporters and paramedics were. Vultures, looking for their next meal. 

Softly, he touched his wrist, underneath his thumb. “We have to find Keith.” 

_(If he had turned his head slightly to the left, maybe he would’ve seen a boy, around his age, with dark hair and dark eyes, who had the words_ **_Lance McClain_ ** _written on his wrist._

_Maybe.)_

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are, at the end. This started out as a little plot bunny, and evolved from there. I wrote this in, like, 3 hours so excuse the poor quality.  
> Honestly, I love this AU, though. Everything from the aesthetic to Lance's favourite boy band. It's kinda sad to see the end, but as long as you enjoyed it, it was worth it.  
> 


End file.
